Richard Seidl
Most QA professionals share their wins at conferences, but the failures that make you want to hide are often the ones with the most valuable lessons embedded in them. The problem isn't that mistakes happen in software testing—it's that teams move on too quickly without extracting the learning, treating post-mortems as box-ticking rather than genuine reflection. Building self-awareness through structured failure analysis transforms recurring problems into one-time lessons, but it requires separating emotions from facts and asking uncomfortable questions about personal responsibility.
Podcast Episode: Stop the blame, keep the learning
In this episode, I talk with Natalia Romanska about why our biggest professional disasters often teach us more than our polished success stories. She shares how a 70,000 złoty accounting mistake early in her career forced her to develop the self-awareness that now guides her QA work—and why that painful learning stuck harder than any training ever could. We dig into the uncomfortable truth that testers rarely talk about: the gap between knowing we should learn from failures and actually sitting down to extract those lessons. Natalia offers concrete practices for turning blame into growth, from the "magic five whys" to building feedback loops that don't just stroke our egos.
"I can make mistakes. I will be doing mistakes in the future. That's not something that we can just skip and forget." - Natalia Romanska
Once an accountant, Natalia Romanska is now a QA. She is a fan of a holistic approach to Quality Assurance - the one that begins with neatly designed processes and thoughtful planning. She truly enjoys having things balanced, both in private and professional life. After hours, you’ll find her rewatching Friends, exploring new destinations, and always on the hunt for the next great scent
Highlights der Episode
- Every failure teaches more than success; analyze what went wrong without emotions involved.
- Compare yourself with your past self, not with others' curated social media successes.
- Building self-awareness requires personality tests, manager feedback, and understanding your biases.
- Give yourself time to feel emotions first, then objectively analyze failures for learnings.
- Each failure is unique; there's no universal pattern, only case-by-case lessons learned.
Learning from Failure: Fuel for Growth in Software Testing
In this episode of Software Testing Unleashed, host Richie sat down with Natalia Romanska at the TestWarriors conference in Poland to discuss a theme that resonates with every software professional: how failures can become our most effective teachers. With a background that bridges accountancy and quality assurance, Natalia Romanska brings a refreshing candidness to the topic, encouraging us all to befriend our mistakes and use them as catalysts for both personal and professional growth.
Why We Need to Talk About Failure
Too often, conferences and professional gatherings focus on successes. We celebrate the perfect releases, the seamless deployments, and the strategies that paid off. What’s missing, as Natalia Romanska points out, is honest conversation about the moments things go wrong. After all, those hard lessons—the ones that might make us cringe in hindsight—frequently push us to evolve in ways that smooth-sailing experiences cannot.
Richie acknowledges this pattern, especially the tendency in some cultures to avoid discussing failures, leaning more toward perfectionism. However, as both speakers note, sharing and reflecting on what hasn’t worked can break down stigma, encourage experimentation, and drive continuous improvement.
Turning Painful Moments into Learning Experiences
Natalia Romanska illustrates this with a story from her early career in accountancy, where a reporting error involving tens of thousands of zloty almost became a costly lesson. Fortunately, a matching mistake was made by the other party, but the incident made a lifelong impact. Instead of letting it paralyze her with fear or embarrassment, Natalia Romanska used the experience as a launchpad to enhance her attention to detail, refine her processes, and always ask extra questions when navigating unfamiliar territory.
This approach also carries over into her work in IT and software quality assurance. Whenever something goes wrong, she advocates for separating emotions from analysis. First, give yourself time to process how you feel, but then examine the situation objectively. What was truly within your control? What wasn’t? And crucially, what can you adjust next time?
Self-Awareness: The Foundation for Growth
A recurring theme in the conversation is self-awareness. As Natalia Romanska shares, developing self-awareness is not a switch you can simply turn on. It requires ongoing effort—understanding your personality, seeking feedback, reflecting on past experiences, and having the humility to question your biases.
She suggests practical tools like personality tests and regular feedback sessions with managers or peers. Even being open to constructive criticism can be uncomfortable, but it is essential for recognizing blind spots and setting meaningful goals.
The Role of Community and Vulnerability
No one grows alone. Both Richie and Natalia Romanska highlight the value of community—whether it’s friends, colleagues, or mentors—in helping us process failure and gain new perspectives. Sometimes, an outside viewpoint can cut through emotion and reveal lessons we might have missed.
Natalia Romanska also advises finding those supportive spaces to vent, reflect, and laugh at old mistakes. This not only builds resilience but gradually helps us reframe failure as something to analyze and learn from, not to hide or run from.
Social Media and the Comparison Trap
In today’s world, it’s easy to believe that everyone else is flawless—social media platforms are packed with stories of success. Natalia Romanska calls out this illusion, reminding us that what’s shared publicly is just a shiny sliver of real life. The truly meaningful growth happens off-screen, in the quiet moments of self-reflection after things haven’t gone as planned.
She suggests we compare ourselves not to others, but to our own past selves. Progress is personal, and every career—no matter how polished it appears—includes setbacks and wrong turns.
From Analysis to Action: Building Your Own Lessons Learned Practice
Learning from failure isn’t about finding a universal solution. Each scenario is unique, and each requires its own thoughtful analysis. But the common thread is reflection: taking the time to sit with the experience, be honest about what happened, and actively apply those insights moving forward.
As Natalia Romanska puts it, failures hurt, but each one is a powerful teacher. By facing our mistakes, sharing them openly, and consistently seeking feedback, we lay the groundwork for both stronger software and more resilient, adaptable testers.
If you find yourself worrying about failure, know that you’re in good company. Everyone experiences setbacks—and it’s what you choose to do with those setbacks that defines your future success. Make space for honest reflection, lean on your peers, and remember: it’s not about avoiding mistakes, but about making sure each one propels you further than before.